Marco Vélez (born June 26, 1980, in Carolina) is a Puerto Rican former

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a defender and currently works as

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

for

Puerto Rico Surf SC Puerto Rico Surf SC is a Puerto Rican association football club that currently plays in the Liga Puerto Rico. It operates in the municipalities of Guaynabo Guaynabo (, ) is a city, suburb of San Juan and municipality in the northern part of ...

Career

Youth and college

Vélez began playing soccer at an early age in Puerto Rico with Colegio San Jose, but moved to

Nick Bollettieri Nicholas James Bollettieri (July 31, 1931 – December 4, 2022) was an American tennis coach. He pioneered the concept of a tennis boarding school, and helped develop many leading tennis players during the past decades, including Andre Agassi, J ...

IMG Soccer Academy IMG Academy is a preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. IMG Academy is set across over 600 acres and features programs consisting of sport camps for youth athletes, adult camps, a board ...

when in high school. He then attended

Barry University Barry University is a private Catholic university in Miami Shores, Florida. Founded in 1940 by the Adrian Dominican Sisters, it is one of the largest Catholic universities in the Southeast and is within the territory of the Archdiocese of Miami ...

from 1999 to 2001, playing on the men's soccer team. During his freshman and sophomore years he was named first team All Conference.

Professional

Vélez was drafted by the MetroStars in the

2003 MLS SuperDraft The 2003 MLS Superdraft was held January 17, 2003 in Kansas City, Missouri. It was the fifth annual SuperDraft held by Major League Soccer. Player selection Any player whose name is marked with an * was contracted under the Project-40 program ...

, but decided to sign with the

Seattle Sounders Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's association football, soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club w ...

of the

USL First Division The USL First Division (usually referred to as USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the United States and Canada from 2005 to 2010. During its existence, it formed the second tier of soccer in the United States soccer league system b ...

instead of playing in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

. While a defender in college, Vélez played as a forward during the 2003 season, before returning to the back line in 2004. He helped the Sounders reach the league finals in 2004. Vélez signed with the

Puerto Rico Islanders Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Orient ...

in 2005, where he scored 2 goals in 22 games playing as a defender. During the 2006 season, Vélez was instrumental in the Islanders' run to the playoffs and their qualification for the

CONCACAF Champions Cup The CONCACAF Champions League, known officially as the Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League for sponsorship reasons, is an annual continental club football competition organized by CONCACAF. The tournament is contested by clubs from North Americ ...

, the first time in team history they had qualified for either tournament. Vélez was selected to be the Islanders' captain during the CONCACAF Champions Cup qualifiers. During the 2007 season, Vélez scored one goal and added one assist in twenty-seven games. His everyday play as defender was crucial to the Islanders advancing for the first time in team history to the USL Semi-Finals. Velez led the Islanders in matches and minutes played. In July 2007, the

California Cougars The California Cougars were an indoor soccer team, founded in 2004. The team was a charter member of the Professional Arena Soccer League (PASL-Pro), the first division of arena (indoor) soccer in North America. They played their home matches a ...

of Major Indoor Soccer League drafted Vélez in the sixth round (49th overall) of the league's supplemental draft., but he never played for the team. Vélez transferred from the Puerto Rico Islanders to

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

in 2008, and in doing so became the first native Puerto Rican to participate in MLS. He made his MLS debut on 29 March 2008 in a 2–0 defeat to

Columbus Crew The Columbus Crew, formerly known as Columbus Crew SC, is an American professional soccer club based in Columbus, Ohio. The Crew competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference and began play in 1996 as one ...

. In his first season in Major League Soccer, Vélez started all the games in which he participated.

released Marco on August 13, 2009 and returned to his former club

. Vélez left Toronto with 38 appearances, 31 of those as a starter. The defender compiled 2,753 minutes and finished his time with the club with two goals, four cautions, and two ejections. In 2010, he re-signed with the Islanders.

International

Vélez made his debut for the

Puerto Rico national football team The Puerto Rico national football team ( es, Selección de fútbol de Puerto Rico) represents Puerto Rico in men's international football, and are governed by the Federación Puertorriqueña de Fútbol (FPF). The team's nickname is ''El Huracá ...

in 2004, and was named captain of the team by coach Colin Clarke in 2008. He scored his first and only goal at the 2012 Caribbean Cup against

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

Coaching career

While playing his last season in the Puerto Rico Islanders, he also served as assistant coach. In 2013 he assisted

Jeaustin Campos Jeaustin Campos Madriz (born June 30, 1971) is a Costa Rican football manager and retired player. He is currently the manager for Saprissa. Club career He was one of the most famous Costa Rican soccer midfielders during the 1990s and play ...

with the Puerto Rico U-15 national football team. In 2015 he coached Bayamón FC. In 2016 he was appointed assistant coach for

Puerto Rico FC Puerto Rico FC was a professional football club based in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Founded in 2015, the team played in the North American Soccer League (NASL), the second tier of the American soccer pyramid. The team debuted in the 2016 fall ...

. He served as assistant coach until early 2017 when he took charge as interim head coach. After finishing the season with Puerto Rico FC, the team announced that it wasn't coming back for the 2018 season. In January 2018, he returned as head coach for Bayamón FC. In June 2018, he took the role of assistant coach of the Puerto Rico national football team after former Toronto FC teammate

Amado Guevara Amado Guevara (born 2 May 1976) is a Honduran former professional footballer and manager. He was the coach of Puerto Rico from 2018 to 2019. A former midfielder, he is the second all-time cap leader for the Honduras national team seconded by M ...

was appointed as head coach. In December 2018,

confirmed that Marco Vélez will coach the Puerto Rico national under-17 football team during 2019 World Cup Qualification.

Honors

Player

Toronto FC

Canadian Championship The Canadian Championship (french: Championnat canadien) is an annual soccer tournament contested by premier Canadian professional teams. The winner is awarded the Voyageurs Cup and Canada's berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. It is contest ...

Winner (1):

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Puerto Rico Islanders

USSF Division 2 Pro League The USSF Division 2 Professional League (D2 Pro League) was a temporary professional soccer league created by the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) for the 2010 season. The twelve-team league was formed as a compromise between the feuding Un ...

Champions (1): 2010 *

CFU Club Championship The Caribbean Club Championship, also known as the CFU Club Championship or CFU Club Champions' Cup, was an annual international football competition held amongst association football clubs that are members of the Caribbean Football Union (CFU). ...

::''Winner (1):''

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

Coach

Bayamón FC

*Puerto Rican Football Federation Preparatory Tournament Champions (1): 2018

References

External links

*
Puerto Rico Islanders bio
*
2003 Sounder stats

2004 Sounder stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Velez, Marco 1980 births Living people Association football defenders Barry University alumni IMG Academy Bradenton players Expatriate soccer players in Canada Expatriate soccer players in the United States Major League Soccer players North American Soccer League players People from Carolina, Puerto Rico Puerto Rican expatriate footballers Puerto Rican expatriate sportspeople in Canada Puerto Rican footballers Puerto Rico international footballers Puerto Rico Islanders players Seattle Sounders (1994–2008) players Toronto FC players A-League (1995–2004) players USL First Division players USL League Two players USSF Division 2 Professional League players New York Red Bulls draft picks